Three others serve clients elsewhere in the state: in Cincinnati; Toledo; and Amelia, in
Clermont County.

The facials that Flower provides put the 44-year-old early-intervention specialist at ease
despite all that she — and her skin — had endured.

“It was gentle, and she didn’t do any extractions,” Dayan said. “She does a lot of cleansing. It
was so relaxing, like having a back massage on your face.”

A relatively new field of skin care, oncology aesthetics caters to cancer patients — who,
depending on the type of cancer and the treatment course, suffer from various skin problems.

Rashes, dryness, redness, itching, inflammation and sensitivity have all been documented, as
have issues such as hair loss and nail changes, said Dr. Shannon Trotter, who specializes in
dermatological oncology at the Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital.

Two-pronged therapy

In a basement suite at a women’s health-care building on Olentangy River Road, Marla Nawrocki
undressed, covered up with a blanket and lay on the heated bed, with soothing music playing in the
background.

All week, the Olde Towne East resident had been looking forward to her monthly facial
appointment.

“Your skin is dehydrated today,” Flower said as she began to massage lotions and oils onto the
face and limbs of the leukemia patient.

“We’ll do a light, light exfoliation.”

“Did you see where the swelling went down on my neck?” Nawrocki asked.

During a free moment, Flower — who has worked with Nawrocki since before the shop opened —
jotted down the health improvements on a chart.

Each new client with cancer completes a six-page form documenting any surgeries, medications,
skin issues and chemo-port use.

Although she has opted not to use chemotherapy or radiation to treat her disease, Nawrocki still
has skin challenges — especially lymphedema, or swelling because of a compromised lymphatic
system.

Flower massages some of the swelling on a limited basis but refers such patients to a lymphatic
specialist when needed.

Sometimes, she denies requests for certain facial treatments, such as deep exfoliations or
heat-based procedures, because of safety concerns.

“She knows what’s best,” Nawrocki said. “My skin has gotten better . . . because I use good
products and I use good services.”

Beyond the physical help she has received from the aesthetician, Nawrocki values the emotional
support even more.

“It’s a time when I can come and just be loved,” she said. “It makes me feel pretty; it makes me
feel like a woman.”

Renewing spirits and building confidence, Flower said, represent vital parts of her job.

“Your skin is part of who you are,” she said. “You look at that person every day in the mirror,
and it’s hard when that person doesn’t look like who you’re used to seeing.”

Broad training

After raising three daughters, Flower, at age 52, went back to school in 2011.

She had been employed by IBM for 10 years before having children and, upon becoming an empty
nester, wanted to help other people.

She attended a 750-hour program — a nine-month effort — at the Spa School in the Clintonville
neighborhood to become a licensed managing aesthetician, then took four days of training through
the Canada-based Touch for Cancer, the leading oncology-aesthetics certification program in the
world.

Morag Currin, at work in a skin-care laboratory at the time, founded Touch for Cancer in 2008
because aestheticians had frequently asked her about products and services for cancer patients.

Students are schooled in oncologic terminology as well as safe products and potential risks,
said Currin, who urges aestheticians to adapt appointments to the needs of each client.

Students treat cancer patients and, to become certified, are required to receive a 100 percent
score on a four-hour exam.

Touch for Cancer, Currin said, also partners with outside sources to offer additional training
on makeup application and oncologic massage therapy — as undergone by Flower, who plans to take a
course in aromatherapy, too.

Skin issues in cancer patients, said Trotter of the James, need to be addressed because they
have a strong psychosocial effect (“People can see it,” she said) and because they cause
interruptions — or even a discontinuation — of cancer treatments.

“They can be very itchy or painful, and a patient can’t sleep,” Trotter said. “They’re not
getting enough sleep, and that can have a trickle-down effect.”

Although she cautions patients to ask their physicians before seeing an outside provider, she
seeks services such as those provided by an oncology aesthetician.

Flower approaches spa treatments in a more clinical way than do her traditional counterparts,
and she doesn’t hesitate to send clients to the doctor’s office or consult physicians.

In fact, her business has a motto of sorts: “Completing the circle of care.”

“Touch is that bridge between your physical self and your spiritual self,” she said. “That
connection does so much for your healing.”